Chapter 9

Any herb that has been around for over a hundred years becomes extremely precious. This five-hundred-year-old ginseng is truly invaluable, comparable to the legendary spirit herbs. A single such five-hundred-year-old ginseng is worth more than 100,000 taels of silver and is highly sought after. This five-hundred-year-old ginseng can be considered the most precious item in the Su family.

If such a five-hundred-year-old ginseng can be refined into a medicinal pill and consumed, it could even allow a peak Seventh Stage Qi Condensation Realm practitioner to advance to the Eighth Stage Qi Transformation Realm. Even if it cannot be refined into a pill, it can be boiled into a medicinal soup, which would greatly enhance a cultivator's strength. It is an extremely rare and valuable natural treasure.

Su Yan waved his hand and said calmly, "This battle concerns the future of our Su family. If we lose, it will be very difficult for our Su family to even withdraw from Xiyuan Town. We can only win, not lose. What is a mere five-hundred-year-old ginseng worth?"

Su Yan, who had built the Su family from scratch, was a shrewd and cunning man. He was very clear about the pros and cons. If Su Han could advance to the Ninth Stage Master Realm in the future, the entire Su family would benefit greatly and leap to become a top noble family in the Da Yan Dynasty. This investment would be well worth it.

Su Yan said solemnly, "Su Han, in ten days, you must win. The rise and fall of our Su family rests on your shoulders."

Su Han felt a heavy responsibility weighing on his young shoulders. He clenched his fists and replied solemnly, "Yes, Grandfather!"

Su Han understood that he absolutely could not lose in the battle ten days from now.

Su Yan took out thirty 10-tael silver bills and handed them to Su Han, "Here are 300 taels of silver. Take them to buy some auxiliary herbs and quickly boil the old ginseng into a soup to enhance your strength."

The best way to fully utilize the medicinal power of a five-hundred-year-old ginseng is to refine it into a pill. However, alchemists are hard to find, and there are only a few graded alchemists in the entire Da Yan Dynasty.

Su He once gave Su Han a health-preserving pill, which was the lowest-grade pill, refined by a pharmacist without a grade. To refine a five-hundred-year-old ginseng, only a graded alchemist can maximize its medicinal power. Otherwise, it would be better to add a few auxiliary herbs and boil it into a soup.

"Yes, Grandfather! I'll go buy them right away."

Su Han took the 300 taels of silver and turned to leave.

Back in the small courtyard, Su Han carefully hid the old ginseng and then went out.

Xiyuan Market is a small market located to the east of Xiyuan Town. Xiyuan Town is a small town near Hongye Mountain. Many adventurers who return from Hongye Mountain often come to Xiyuan Market to sell their gains, making the market very bustling.

After entering Xiyuan Market, Su Han saw numerous simple stalls on both sides of the road, with many adventurers selling their gains from Hongye Mountain.

Although there are general stores in Xiyuan Market that buy local specialties, the prices they offer are often very low. If the adventurers are not in a hurry to sell, they prefer to sell their items slowly on their own.

Su Han walked and looked around, searching for the herbs he needed.

Most of the items on the adventurers' stalls were low-grade demon beasts' fur, teeth, and other materials, as well as herbs like poria, ginseng, lingzhi, and yellow essence. There were also many strange and hard-to-identify items. Occasionally, some very precious items would be hidden among the adventurers' gains, but finding them among a pile of junk requires a keen eye.

Suddenly, a man in tattered black robes, with slightly dark skin and a thin build, approached him mysteriously, "Young brother, come over here. I have something good."

Su Han glanced at the man in black robes and ignored him, continuing to walk forward.

The man in tattered black robes quickly stepped forward to block Su Han and whispered, "I have a few treasures I found in an ancient site. If you don't look, you'll definitely regret it!"

Su Han heard this and sneered inwardly, knowing he had encountered a fraudster. Ancient sites are remnants of the ancient powerful beings from the ancient era, extremely rare and dangerous. Even innate realm practitioners might not survive entering an ancient site. This man in black robes had a weak aura and probably didn't even have the Fourth Stage Qi Condensation Realm cultivation. The idea that he could possess treasures from an ancient site was a delusion. Clearly, this man saw Su Han as young and wanted to trick him.

Su Han said coolly, "Then show them to me."

"Alright!" The man in black robes' eyes flashed with joy, and he immediately opened a bundle he was carrying. Inside the bundle were an old and tattered manual, over twenty ancient-looking coins, two black stones, two broken small jade bottles, and a tattered incense burner.

The man in black robes said generously, "These are the few treasures I found in the ancient site. I almost died to get them. Each of these treasures is extremely precious. If someone else wanted to buy them, I would sell each for at least 5,000 taels. But since we get along so well, I'll sell each for 100 taels."

Su Han glanced at the junk and his eyes flashed with coldness, "100 taels? This trash isn't even worth one tael of silver."

Just as Su Han was about to leave, a blue, mysterious rune suddenly formed in the depths of his right eye. As the rune formed, the scene in his right eye changed.

He saw that among the pile of junk the man in black robes had taken out, the other items were still junk, but in the middle of the old and tattered manual, there were faint white lights flickering.

"What is this?"

Seeing this, Su Han was slightly stunned. He had never experienced such a phenomenon before. However, he was a smart person and quickly realized what was happening, feeling a surge of joy: "This must be the new ability granted by the stone eye. This manual is probably not simple."

As Su Han rejoiced, the rune in the depths of his right eye slowly disappeared, and the scene in his eyes returned to normal.

Su Han was slightly stunned and, with a thought, stared intently at the old and tattered manual. When he focused, the mysterious rune in his right eye reappeared, allowing him to see the white spiritual light deep within the manual.

Su Han felt joy in his heart but kept a calm expression, calmly picking up the old and tattered manual and flipping through it. He saw that it recorded a First Rank martial technique called Sandstorm Palm, and this Sandstorm Palm was clearly missing eight moves. Even if it were completed, it would only be slightly better than an ungraded martial technique, making it extremely worthless.

Su Han casually flipped through the tattered Sandstorm Palm manual for a while, and the man in black robes was very anxious, fearing that Su Han would see through something.

Su Han scanned the Sandstorm Palm manual for a while, then calmly put it aside and picked up the man's items one by one, examining them carefully, like a naive young man.